Profit From Reruns: $10 Million a Year
While Kaley Cuoco was already a star, this brainy sitcom catapulted Jim Parsons and his other co-star Johnny Galecki to stardom. Parson’s character, Sheldon Cooper, despite being an eccentric and strange man-child, loves to drop zingers and smart jokes.
When the show finally ended after twelve seasons, he was making almost a million dollars per episode. With DVD sales and syndication, he can look forward to something like ten million dollars a year. While the show does get hated on in some circles, it still proved popular enough to nerds and non-nerds alike to take it to the top of the charts.
French Stewart: 3rd Rock From the Sun
Profit From Reruns: $1,000 a Year
"3rd Rock From the Sun" features a group of extraterrestrials trying to make sense of life on Earth. Comedian French Stewart played Harry Solomon during the show's run of six seasons. The show also featured Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a child star. Sitcoms had boomed during that era, so this show had tough competition, yet still enjoyed respectable ratings.
Sadly, due to contract details, the cast is only getting about a thousand dollars a year, and most of that is only thanks to DVD sales. Good ratings only get you so far.
Jon Cryer: Two and a Half Men
Profit From Reruns: $20 Million So Far
"Two and a Half Men" has been at the top of the charts for years. The three original main actors, Jon Cryer, Charlie Sheen, and Angus T. still earn millions from rerun dividends. The sitcom is irreverent and goofy, and though it had its ups and downs (thanks mostly to Charlie Sheen's behavior), it has continued airing reruns even after twelve full seasons.
Cryer's peak salary was a little over six hundred thousand per episode, and at this point, he's earned around twenty million dollars in total residuals. A reboot might be in the works, but Sheen's unpredictability is a major factor in whether or not it will happen.
Patrick Stewart: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Profit From Reruns: Nothing
As the captain of the Enterprise, Jean-Luc Picard exudes charm, stature, and wit. After the first season, anyway. The cast put a ton of work into the show and still appears on the convention circuit. However, Patrick Stewart has said that he never received any residual payments from the show.
It was one of the shows that made science-fiction big again, and the whole series is still going strong. Well, going. Jean-Luc himself is the title character of "Star Trek: Picard". Stewart did make plenty from his time on the show and a few more millions from the "Star Trek" movies.
George Clooney: E.R.
Profit From Reruns: $13 Million a Year
This famous medical drama was created by Michael Crichton, the author of "Jurassic Park". Everyone's favorite smoldering lead actor starred a the main character for five seasons. The reruns make Clooney up to $13 million a year!
He loved his role as Dr. Doug Ross, the most handsome doctor on television since 1994. Clooney has, of course, gone on to make it big in Hollywood in dozens of movies, big and small, but as far as his finances go, he's really just doing it for fun.